"What I envy Americans the
most is that their politicians base their careers and activities on a
painstakingly prepared intellectual foundation. … I envy Americans their political
engagement, which doesn't exhaust itself with the act of voting or posting
election fliers."

I envy them their electoral
emotions, hopes for reforming the administration of their government, the political
culture and personalities of their candidates.

One could say that the
campaign was shallow, the promises made were empty and that the candidates
avoided substance, but it can also be argued that like the ancient Greeks, for
whom politics was a great Agon [struggle ], elections for Americans are a battlefield of words
where personalities clash free of party agendas and boring economic details. Neither
of the candidates hired a JacekKurski
to his staff [see below], so instead of a Wehrmacht
grandfather, we were treated to a real grandma from Hawaii.

[Editor's Note: JacekKurski, a Rove-like figure
from PiS Party [the right-wing Law and Justice Party]
who, in the heat of the Polish presidential election, accused President Kaczyński’s opponent, now-Prime Minister Donald Tusk,
of being an ancestor of a man who had served in the German Army during World
War II. Tusk hails from Kashubia, a minority region that was classified German
during the Nazi occupation and was routinely drafted into the German military
during the war. German occupation was so horrific that it still evokes a
visceral reaction in most Poles. The charge was especially insidious, since in
reality Tusk’s grandfather seems to have escaped the German army after a few months
and probably joined the Polish Army exiled in the West, although the documents
are murky. Whatever relevance one thinks a person's grandfather has on a
candidate's political fitness, the charge may have cost Tusk the presidency].

There were also no personal
files abused, no insinuations from the secret service, no private mutual resentments,
no mutual hatreds. If there were any, they were deeply
and skillfully hidden. The campaign was essentially free of below-the-belt tricks
and didn't undercut the level of political debate.

I envy Americans such
politicians - those who not only have something to say that arrests and
electrifies a crowd, but who can also construct sentences properly - even elegantly
- while mastering their body language, so that it exudes positive energy instead
of showing their complexes and mistrust toward the world [ajab at
president Kaczynski]. In spite of not sympathizing with McCain, I've always
listened to him with great interest, since he knew what he was talking about
and his style of political fighting was classy and inspired respect.

What I envy
Americans the most is that their politicians base their careers and activities
on a painstakingly prepared intellectual foundation and surround
themselves with excellent aides: well-educated people who think as much about
the success of “their man” as they do about the continuity of the country and
the common good. They are more than just good PR specialists. There are fewer brash youngsters among them caring only for
their own careers, and fewer lunatics that use the secret service to crush their opponents.

A change of president doesn't
imply a radical "moral” revolution (in terms of human resources) at every level of the government in the United States, and this is due as much to the Constitution
and institutional constraints as to political culture. In American politics - and
from the Polish perspective this might seem quaint - what counts is competence,
education, skill and the experience of people who work for the President, rather
than their personal ambition and ability to deliver blows below the belt.

And finally, I envy Americans
their political engagement, which doesn't exhaust itself with the act of voting
or posting election fliers. Americans debate, go door to door and travel to
different states in order to convert others to their point of view. This is how
a political culture is born and a capital of social trust is established,
which, irrespective of who wins the election, remains an important national
asset - a thing Poland still painfully lacks.